Unfair Affections
by Ani Pendragon
Summary: She tries. She tries with everything she has to stay happy and supportive. But sometimes her feelings for Jaune are too much to bear alone. And sometimes, there is someone else to help bear the pain. Unrequited Arkos and Seamonkeys. Post episode 5. Minor spoilers.


**Author's Note:** Written post episode five, not terribly spoilery. Unrequited Arkos (Pyrrha/Jaune) and Seamonkeys (Neptune/Sun). Allusions to Pyrrha having two dads. Written August 28th, 2014. R&R.

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**Unfair Affections**

She ended up on the roof – one different than the one Cardin Winchester had found Jaune on – and when she was sure she was alone, Pyrrha screamed to the skies. Around her, metal ripped up and swirled around her, her weapons sang and flung in wide arcs. She screamed and screamed and screamed. And then she fell to her knees and she wept.

It wasn't fair. Over and over the thought echoed in her mind. But life wasn't fair, that was what her fathers had always taught her. Life wasn't fair, so you had to fight back with everything you had. Pyrrha hugged herself tightly, tears slipping down her face and dripping onto her clothes. But how could you fight against love?

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Beacon Academy was supposed to be her safe haven. It was supposed to be a place to start over, where most people wouldn't know who she was and wouldn't make assumptions. They wouldn't call her names; they wouldn't tease her way of speaking. And, for the most part, that was true. Beacon was an amazing school, but there were still problems.

There were Weiss Schnees and Cardin Winchesters, there were fans and there were haters. There were those who thought she was stuck up, those who thought she was an idiot, and those who thought she was a blood knight. But mostly, there was Jaune. Eager to please, hopelessly adorable, somehow their team leader, Jaune. Jaune Arc, who she had fallen in love with in less than a year.

Pyrrha wanted to break something, wanted to tear it into a million pieces and send in flying into the forests filled with Grimm; wanted to battle against another team over and over until they broke beneath her shield; wanted to do something, _anything_ that would stop the burning sting of anger and rejection that bubbled up in her belly and left her swimming in hot anger and grief.

She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and tried to stop crying, but it was a pointless endeavour. Tears dripped off her nose and into her skirt. She rubbed at them helplessly, struggling to find a way to control herself. But there was nothing left to control. For so many weeks, so many months, she had smiled her way through the pain. She had smiled as Jaune complained about Weiss, as he worshipped the ground she walked on, as he flirted with her over and over even though she showed no interest, as he asked her out, as he asked for comfort from the sting of rejection. She had comforted him, consoled him, been the perfect friend. And she was his friend. She cared for Jaune. She cared for him as a friend, first and foremost. And she would never claim otherwise. But it was more than simple caring that burned in her heart. It was more than simple anger that ripped at her soul every time she saw him shrug her off for Weiss.

And she couldn't hold it against Weiss, Weiss made it clear she wasn't interested, but Jaune just didn't get it. And it hurt. It hurt so much. But what could she do to stop it?

Pyrrha stood and walked to the edge of the roof. She hugged herself. From here, the Forever Fall forest was visible, and in the darkness of the night Pyrhha could see almost nothing within the forest. From time to time there as movement within the tops of the trees, but it was nothing that she could go after. The dark was too dangerous to go fighting in, she knew that.

But that didn't stop her from wanting to.

"Pyrrha?" It was Neptune, the blue haired boy who was friends with Sun. He stood at the doorway of the roof, looking more than a little hesitant. Pyrrha tried to paste on a smile, failed, and looked away. But she did not turn him away, and so Neptune walked over to her. He sat down at the edge of the roof and gestured for Pyrrha to follow.

"Hi," said Neptune.

Pyrrha glanced at him before sitting down and fiddling with her hands. "Hi."

"Jaune didn't ask you, then?" Pyrrha flinched, wondering when she had become so easy to read. Being in the media all the time, she had grown accustomed to hiding what she was thinking. It became a game after a while, to see how long she could hold out against scrutiny. One of the few parts of being famous she had actually found interesting.

"No."

"His loss," replied Neptune, snorting. Pyrrha shot him a dark look, and Neptune shrunk back before continuing on. "Look, I don't know if you're aware, but I do know you have feelings for Jaune. I don't think anyone else does, believe it or not, but I do." He shrugged. "Sorry." And he sounded it. Though for what he was apologizing for, Pyrrha couldn't say.

"How?" asked Pyrrha. She hugged her knees and stared out into the darkness.

"It's easy, when you're in the same boat." His words were so quiet that, for a moment, she hadn't realized they were truly aloud. Then they registered and she turned to stare at him. Neptune was leaning back on his palms, staring up at the stars. "Look, it's the Seven Huntresses," he said, pointing to a constellation.

"You…" She trailed off. He nodded.

"Hard to believe, I know. Me, the customary ladies man." He laughed. "I do stuff, you know, to get my mind of it. Like when I first got here and saw Jaune flirting with Weiss. I thought, hey, maybe, if I flirted with Weiss, I could get Jaune off her back. Plus she seemed fun to mess with." His lips twitched. "Didn't count on the first part not working." He cringed. "Especially didn't count on her getting a crush on me."

"Sun." The word hung between them. Neptune pinked and looked away from her.

After a moment, Neptune nodded. "Yeah, going on, oh, about two years now?" He shook his head, a sad smile marring his usually cheerful face. "Kind of pathetic, actually."

A question hung on Pyrrha's lips. One she was scared to ask. Pyrrha asked anyway. "Does it ever get easier?"

Neptune hummed and tapped his chin with one hand, thoughtful. "Yeah, I think it does. It never stops hurting, but after a while, the urge to scream and tell them fades for the most part. You get caught up in making them happy, no matter what happens to you. Can be dangerous." He shrugged. "But it's worth it."

Pyrrha shook her head. "I want to tell him."

"Then tell him," said Neptune. "Or don't, it's up to you. But don't do what I did. Don't keep thinking 'what if'. Don't get scared and back out at the last second. Either do it or don't, but don't keep saying you will and then never do. You'll regret it forever."

"Won't I regret it if I don't tell him?" asked Pyrrha.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"How well do you handle rejection?" Pyrrha pressed her lips together and looked down. "I'm not saying you will get rejected," Neptune continued. "But it is an option, and you do have to be ready for it." Pyrrha nodded.

For a time, neither one of them spoke. Pyrrha was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to keep up polite conversation and Neptune seemed content to stare at the stars in silence. She wondered how much it hurt Neptune to keep his feelings hidden. She wonder if it was anything like the pain she felt, holding back. She wondered if it hurt as much for him to watch the object of his affections flirt with a different person. With a girl who didn't care in return. She wondered if he ever wanted to hate her for it, but felt bad afterward because she didn't deserve it.

"Neptune?" asked Pyrrha, breaking the silence. He looked over at her, eyebrow cocked. "Thank you."

He nodded. "If you ever need to talk…" He trailed off, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know, thank you," she said, nodding in return. Neptune smiled at her and clapped her shoulder.

"All right then, let's go find the others. I heard that Ren guy was making pancakes," he said, cheerfully. He stood, offering a hand to Pyrrha. She took it, letting him pull her up. And, for the first time in weeks, Pyrhha gave a genuine laugh.

"We should hurry then, he makes the best I've ever tasted." Laughing, the two headed back to the door to the roof. Neptune went through first, and Pyrrha followed. Before she passed through the door, however, she stopped and looked up into the night sky. Sure enough, the Seven Huntresses blazed brightly in the sky, watching down over Vale. As she watched them, they seemed to twinkle at her, as if to tell her that everything would be all right. With a quiet smile, Pyrrha pushed all thoughts of Jaune from her mind, and followed Neptune to the kitchens.


End file.
